Dear Faith Family,

"Now may the God of peace himself sanctify [saintify] you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thessalonians 5:23)

Last week, we considered the power of names. Names awaken images, tell stories, and evoke emotions. Reputation and relation give names great power, but there is more. Names not only connect to what has been, but also give us something to live into. That is certainly true of our faith family name: Saints.

Saints: Ones set apart by God, whose person and purposes- who we are and what we are for- cannot be accurately or aptly described or known apart from God's intentions for us and His persistent attention to us. We are "anointed ones," covered in the life of God in Christ.

The name saint, scholar and theologian Michael Gorman contends, "is both a gift and a task." We are, paraphrasing the apostle Paul, ones "made into saints in Christ Jesus and called to become saints, together in Christ Jesus our Lord." That is the name. A wondrous name, yes, but simple?

"Simple Saints," that is the title of our current series. But how can one so esteemed and so commissioned be labeled simple?

Well, a bit ironically, the answer is complicated!

Simple, when applied theologically, has a technical meaning. To say God is simple is to say that God is whole and holy what He is, without mixture, confusion, or contradiction. God is not a combination of his attributes, actions, and attitudes. God simply is. Every attribute of God—revealed in his actions and consistent with his attitudes (dispositions)—is identical (soft identity) with his essence. Which is why we can say, God is not one who loves; God is Love. God is not one who does good; God is Good. God's nature and actions are God.

Told you it was a bit complicated!

But say, and hopefully you are, still tracking with me. The title of our series is not "Simple God" but "Simple Saints." So what does the doctrine of simplicity have to do with our family name? Good question!

Again, let's get a little technical. Our family name, saint, is derivative; we don't inherently possess it by existing, but we are gifted it through, in, and with Christ. Therefore, it is based on and modeled after another source, God Himself, who is Holy. This reality is articulated by the apostle Peter, who, referencing the God-given expectation from Leviticus, constructs our reality:

"...he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I AM holy.'" (1 Peter 1:15-16)

We are who we are, and are becoming, because of who God is. And, as we began to unpack on Sunday, in a world that divides us, to be a simple saint is to be whole, unadorned yet exquisite (glorious) in our lives with God, together; whole and holy in harmony within ourselves and in God. The Holy, Simple One. Or, as Paul encouraged us,

"saintified completely... your whole spirit and soul and body... kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Thess. 5:23)

This week, I invite you to join me in considering the simplicity of the name that is both our gift and our task. Here is how.

(Re)Listen or Watch(!) the Sermon

Reflect & Share

First with the Lord and then with your GC or a faith-filled friend.

Where, when, and in what ways have I experienced
the "wholeness" of being set apart by God (being who I truly am)?
Where and in what ways am I feeling divided, mixed-up, in spirit, soul, and/or body?

May we become who we are made to be in Christ, together.

Love you, faith family. God bless.